Chapter 361: Silence of the Gods

The next morning, Killian helped Regis settle beside the Ancient Tree. Pandora adjusted the folded cloak behind his back, then caught his wrist before he could reach towards the bark.

"Before you’re exhausted, Brother."

"I remember." Regis smiled at her and rested his palm against the trunk, letting Soul Possession carry him into Flona’s consciousness.

She was waiting among the roots with her arm already held out. The dark marks had grown much smaller since his first visit, though several still disturbed the green light beneath her skin.

"You’re getting impatient," he said, sitting beside her.

"I want them gone."

"So do I." He took her hand and examined the remaining patches before glancing up at her. "Flona, do you remember the last time you spoke with your sister? Hagios asked whether anything unusual happened."

Her fingers went still in his. "The Pope is trying to understand why you can’t hear her," Regis explained. "You don’t have to answer if you’re tired."

"I remember." She looked down at their hands. "We were talking like we always did."

"Did she say anything was wrong?"

Flona shook her head. "She was answering me. Then I couldn’t hear her anymore."

Regis’s hand stopped. "Before she finished?"

"Mhm. I thought she would finish if I waited." Flona’s voice grew quieter. "When she didn’t, I called her again."

He glanced at her face. She had already been calling for her sister before the people who injured her reached the tree. He had known that much, but he hadn’t realised she had been waiting for the rest of a conversation.

"Will he find her?"

"I don’t know," Regis admitted. "But I’ll tell him what you remember."

Flona nodded after a moment. When she held her arm a little closer, he gently adjusted his grip and returned to the treatment.

After withdrawing, he passed her account to Hagios. The Pope listened without interrupting, his gaze briefly moving towards the branches above them.

"She heard no warning?"

"None that she mentioned. She thought her sister was still going to speak."

Hagios remained quiet for a moment before thanking him. "Let her rest. You should do the same."

***

Later, Hagios sat alone in one of the rooms still fit for use near the courtyard. Bargadon’s voice reached him through their connection.

"Tinateria will need to be examined before I can tell you anything about repairs."

"The sword and its fragment are still with Regis," Hagios replied. "I’ll arrange for them to be made available. There’s another matter I need to discuss with you."

Hagios glanced towards the closed door before continuing, "When did you last receive an answer to your prayers?"

For a while, nothing came from the other end.

"Why are you asking?"

"Goddess Lemetina has not answered my prayers." Hagios’s fingers tightened against his knee. "Flonaralavenrosa can no longer hear her sister either. According to her, Goddess Yggdrasilia fell silent while they were speaking."

Bargadon let out a slow breath. "I’ve received no answer either. I had hoped it was something I’d done. After all, there were many times in the past where He ignored me because he’s annoyed..."

Hagios lowered his eyes. He had considered the possibility, yet hearing it confirmed did nothing to ease the weight in his chest.

"Tell me about the last answer you received," he said. "I’ll tell you what I remember as well."

***

Two more days passed before Regis reached the last of the corruption.

Flona sat beside him, watching his translucent fingers against her arm. Most of the dark marks had disappeared, leaving only a thin, uneven patch near her elbow. Through Soul Possession, he could feel it extending deeper than its appearance suggested.

’This part again...’ He had left it alone during his earlier attempts. Whenever he tried separating it, some of Flona’s power followed, and he had been unwilling to risk taking both. Now, with the surrounding areas cleared, he could follow its movement more easily.

"Keep your power moving normally," he reminded her.

"I am."

"I know. Tell me if it hurts more."

Regis steadied Corruption Manipulation and followed the green light through the affected area. A narrow strand of corruption shifted beneath his control, but the energy surrounding it began to move as well. He eased his hold before Flona could flinch.

’A little further along...’ He waited for her power to pass through again, then worked from the edge of the strand. This time, it gradually loosened without drawing the green light after it.

A sting spread through his fingers as he took it into his own soul. Regis kept his attention on Flona until the light settled, allowing Perfect Adaptation to ease the discomfort before reaching for the next portion.

When Flona’s free hand curled against the root beneath her, Regis looked up. "That hurt?"

"A little."

He stopped until her fingers relaxed, then adjusted where he was working. The next strand came away more easily. Beneath his hand, the dark patch slowly narrowed.

Neither spoke for a while. Regis paused whenever his concentration began to slip, and Flona waited without urging him on. When he finally drew out the last strand, the green light passed through her arm without catching against anything.

He still did not let go. Following her circulation, he checked the places he had treated during his earlier visits. Some remained weak, and he could feel the damage extending through her soul, but the unfamiliar power that had obstructed them was gone.

Regis checked once more before slowly releasing her hand. "Try bending your arm."

Flona brought her hand towards her shoulder, then lowered it. She repeated the movement before looking up at him with widening eyes.

"It’s gone?"

"The corruption is." He smiled, though his hands trembled as he lowered them to his lap. "All of it."

She turned her arm over, searching the skin as though she might find something he had missed. Then she reached towards him with both hands, only to stop when the movement pulled at an injured part of her soul.

"Careful." Regis moved closer so she would not have to stretch. "You still need time to recover. I’ve removed what was hurting you, but the damage it caused is still there."

Flona nodded, her fingers resting against his. For a while, she kept looking between her arms, smiling whenever the green light flowed beneath them.

Regis let her enjoy it. After so many visits spent watching those marks shrink, he found himself doing much the same thing.

Eventually, she raised her head. "Then you don’t have to do this anymore?"

"I’ll still need to make sure you’re recovering properly. But there shouldn’t be more corruption to remove."

Her smile gradually weakened. "Are you leaving?"

Regis hesitated. "Not today."

"But you will."

"I want to return to Harmonia with the others. After that..." His thoughts drifted towards the unfinished letter waiting among his things. "There’s someone I’ve been meaning to meet in Grandella."

Flona looked down at their hands. He waited, feeling her grip loosen before she spoke again.

"Will you still come back?"

Regis paused before answering. "When I can. I don’t want to promise you a day and make you wait for it."

She remained quiet long enough for him to wonder whether he should say more. However, he couldn’t tell her how far his journey would take him, much less when he would be able to return.

"I liked it when you came," she murmured.

"I liked talking to you too," he said quietly.

"Even when I complained?"

"Especially then. It made it easier to know where it hurt."

Flona glanced up at him, and a small smile returned to her face. She carefully released his fingers.

"You should rest. Your hands are shaking."

"Yeah..." Regis let out a tired laugh. "You’re supposed to be the patient here."

***

When Regis opened his eyes, Pandora was already holding water within reach. He accepted it, taking several slow mouthfuls before looking towards Marzana.

"I removed the rest."

She stared at him. "All of it?"

"Yes. She’s still injured, but the corruption is gone."

Marzana turned towards the trunk. The remaining discoloration had faded, though the bark was still torn and splintered around the wounds. She approached it with Aeola’s help and rested her palm against a section that had been dark that morning.

"What does she need now?"

"Time to recover. I’ll keep checking on her while we’re here."

Marzana nodded, keeping her hand against the tree as Killian helped Regis rise. This time, when his leg began to tremble, he leaned on his companion before being told.

***

The following afternoon, Flona looked up as Regis appeared among the roots.

"Is there more?"

"More what?"

She glanced towards her arm, and he realised what she meant.

"No. I haven’t found anything else."

"But you don’t have to treat me anymore."

"I know." Regis sat beside her. "I thought we could talk for a while."

Flona studied him before shifting closer. Her fingers settled against the root between them, within easy reach of his hand.

"About what?"

"Anything you like."

She considered that, then looked up at him. "Tell me about Grandella."

Regis blinked. He had spent so much time wondering whether he would ever reach it that, for a moment, he didn’t know where to begin.

"Well... I haven’t been there yet."

"Then tell me why you want to go."

He smiled and settled more comfortably beside her. "Alright."